Raised 2 billion in 10 months, another AI unicorn emerges, backed by Shanghai state capital

What happened: Beijing video generation startup Sand.ai said it closed a $200 million A+ round, its third round of 2026, and stated it has entered unicorn status. The round included Shanghai state-owned capital. Key numbers: $200 million A+ round (about RMB 1.334 billion). $300 million raised over 10 months (about RMB 2.001 billion). Why it matters: Sand.ai said proceeds will fund video foundation model R&D, training and inference infrastructure, product iteration and global expansion, and that the MAGI-2 full release is due soon.

Beijing video generation startup Sand.ai said it closed a $200 million A+ round, its third round of 2026, and stated it has entered unicorn status. The round included Shanghai state-owned capital.

Sand.ai said proceeds will fund video foundation model R&D, training and inference infrastructure, product iteration and global expansion, and that the MAGI-2 full release is due soon.